Abstract

We investigated the sleep problems and sleep habits of adolescents at three public primary schools and two high schools. Our study included 428 Turkish school children (244 girls and 184 boys). We used a questionnaire to determine the time they went to sleep at night; waking time in the morning; incidence of nightmares, snoring, daytime sleepiness, and intrafamilial physical trauma; concentration difficulty in class; and school success. The students were divided into age-related groups (group 1 = 11 to 13 years of age; group 2 = 14 to 15 years; group 3 = 16 to 18 years). The time they went to sleep was mostly between 10 and 11 p.m. in groups 1 and 2, and 11 to 12 p.m. in group 3. Difficulty in falling asleep was reported by 16.8 to 19.6% of the students in the three groups. Difficulty in waking up in the morning was reported by 12.7% of group 1, 16.0% of group 2, and 16.8% of group 3. Snoring was present in 12.1% of females and 22.0% of males. The occurrence of one nightmare in the preceding 3 months was reported by 11.3% of the students; 17.9% of the students reported having nightmares several times. Daytime sleepiness was present in 65.1%, and concentration difficulty was present in 56.8% of the students. We conclude that difficulty in falling asleep, snoring, and daytime sleepiness may be seen in adolescents who are in both primary and high schools. Watching inappropriate programs and movies on television and intrafamilial physical trauma may cause nightmares and sleeping problems in these adolescents. Students and families should be educated about the importance of sleep in academic performance. Countries' public health policies should address sleep problems and related educational activities.

Abstract

We evaluated the ototoxic effect of aminoglycosides on the outer hair cells of newborns in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) by means of distortion-product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAE) testing. Our study population was made up of 164 newborns who were divided into three groups: group A consisted of 105 infants who were given aminoglycoside therapy (either gentamicin or amikacin, or a combination of the two) as treatment for suspected or proven bacterial infection and septic states; group B included 30 newborns who were not given an antibiotic or who were given an antibiotic other than an aminoglycoside; group C, a control group, was made up of 29 healthy neonates who were hospitalized in the well-baby nursery. All the neonates underwent DPOAE testing in both ears (the f2 primary tone was presented at 2.0, 2.5, 3.2, and 4.0 kHz). We found that 41 patients in group A (39.0%) and 13 in group B (43.3%) failed the DPOAE test in one or both ears; the difference between these two groups was not statistically significant (p = 0.673). In group C, the DPOAE fail rate was 13.8% (4 newborns). In group A, there was no statistically significant association between the pass/fail rate and the specific aminoglycoside that was administered, or in the duration of antibiotic treatment, the number of doses, and the size of the mean daily dose and the mean total dose. In clinical practice, DPOAE testing is a sensitive method of evaluating the integrity of the outer hair cells in the basal turn of the cochlea after exposure to ototoxic drugs such as aminoglycosides. However, our study did not demonstrate that the aminoglycosides had any ototoxic effect on the hearing of neonates in the NICU.

Venous malformations are usually visible at birth, although deeper lesions may have normal overlying skin or a bluish discoloration. They grow proportionately with the child and can expand in adulthood.

Abstract

A hamartoma is a benign malformation of native tissue that may occur in any area of the body. Hamartoma of the tongue is a rare developmental lesion. We describe the case of a pendulant lingual hamartoma in a 2-day-old girl that had not been identified on prenatal ultrasonography. We also review the utility of prenatal imaging options, the role of preoperative imaging, the mechanical relationship between lingual hamartoma and cleft palate, the histopathology of this tumor, surgical treatment, and emergency airway management.

Double aortic vascular ring is a complete vascular ring that is formed when the distal portion of the right dorsal aorta fails to regress and the ascending aorta bifurcates to surround and compress both trachea and esophagus and rejoins to form the descending aorta.

Abstract

We conducted a study to determine the impact that pediatric adenoidectomy or adenotonsillotomy (adenoidectomy with a partial tonsillectomy) had on the short-term psychological status of the children's mothers. Mothers of 100 treated children were examined with the 14-item Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire immediately before the operation and 3 days afterward; to establish a baseline for control purposes, they completed another questionnaire 10 days postoperatively. We also compiled data for the mothers' demographic information and the children's physical status. In the preoperative period, we found that (1) the anxiety scores of half the mothers were abnormal, (2) depression scores were higher in the adenotonsillotomy group, and (3) anxiety and depression scores were lower in the mothers with more education and in the mothers who had a personal or family history of previous surgery. At 3 days postoperatively, anxiety and depression scores were again lower in the more educated mothers, and lower in the absence of postoperative fever. We conclude that mothers whose children are undergoing adenoidectomy or adenotonsillotomy, particularly the latter, and those with less education may require some psychological intervention. Such help may also be needed when postoperative complications occur.

Children with hearing loss should avoid noise exposure, and families should be counseled to protect their child's hearing environment and to educate their children about the long-term need to avoid excessive noise exposure.